Secretly
by Graceless Uchiha
Summary: He had never used the word to describe someone before, but it had never been so fitting. "She's...beautiful." SasuSaku, oneshot


-1He's never used the word to describe a person before, but it's never been so fitting. "She's…beautiful."

::.I've been caught up in all the U.S. election stuff recently, so I thought it was fitting to do a fic pertaining loosely to politics. However, the real motive here was to write some fluffy SasuSaku, which I (hopefully) accomplished. Please enjoy this little one-shot, because I definitely enjoyed writing it.::

.::Secretly::.

It's the subtle way a gentle breeze from the open window sifts through straying strands of rosette hair, the illuminating gleam in her emerald eyes of the overhead fluorescent lighting, the soft purse of her lips as she smoothes down the folds in her skirt. It's an unnamable spark in her quiet demeanor, the poise of her shoulders as she stands straight and tall in her slender black heels, the melodious aria of her voice as she delivers the final verses of her well-prepared speech. It's her essence, her kind smile for the audience as their hands applaud her work, her relieved little sigh as she steps offstage and brushes past him with a few parting words.

"Beat that, Sasuke-kun."

Grinning to himself, Sasuke doesn't allow her to glimpse his face as he takes the stage. Of course, he knows in his mind that she has every right to saunter in pride back to her seat, because her delivery was remarkable, her repertoire of ideas organized into a flawless outflow of words. The crowd's cheers die to an excited buzz as he steps up to the podium and places his own lengthy speech before him. After clearing his throat, he dives in headfirst, his onyx eyes seeking her out in the crowd of people and watching her as he speaks.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I'm running for student council president."

----

The initial oration to the student body is crucial for the election, because first impressions are everything in a teenager's world. Sasuke never hesitates to forget Sakura's outstanding entrance into the high school political world, a realm he himself has thrived in for several years. In most respects, he and Sakura lie at opposite ends of the earth in terms of personality. Yet they share a common motive, or more accurately, the lack of one. Sasuke doesn't join student council to impress his parents or some university a thousand miles away. The experience, he finds, is rewarding in its own way.

And he has discovered that Miss Haruno Sakura also possesses no obvious reason for taking on the challenge. It's his understanding that her parents don't push her too hard in any one direction; they allow her the choice of selecting her own paths and supporting her along her journeys. It's a life he can't help but covet, considering his own parents' wishes play heavily into his daily decisions, the classes he takes, and the occupation he'll study in college.

_She's a lucky girl. _

Eyes trained to her figure from across the room, he observes her talking with friends, laughing at an obnoxious blond to her left and chattering with another girl on her right. Although Sasuke himself is surrounded by his own social grouping, he doesn't join in the intense debates occurring as he strains to hear her wind chimes laughter in the raucous noise of the common's.

Glancing up from her discussion with her friend, she snatches a glimpse of his gaze and narrows her eyes, arms folding over her chest as she stands from her seat. Sasuke offers her a light smirk to appear that he is taunting her, yet he is only amused with her temper as she pushes her way through the crowd toward his seat.

"It's rude to stare, Sasuke-kun," she announces, drawing out his name with a small bite to her tone as she perches one hand on a hip jutting out to the side.

Without blinking, without standing, Sasuke's smile never falters as he replies, "My apologies. I hadn't realized I was staring at _you_." He emphasizes the word with enough venom to lead her calculations astray and throw her from the true path that she should be contemplating. _How could I not stare?_

Unaffected by his comment, Sakura releases a sigh, as if she's bored with him. "You're so sincere, aren't you? Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners?"

With a light shrug, his smirk grows as she shifts her weight from foot to foot in discomfort. "No, I guess not."

"You're so…annoying," she sighs, twisting on her heel and stalking across the large dining hall, her delicate hair cascading behind her like a parting gift.

_I think that's my line, _he muses to himself. Averting his eyes from her retreating form, he joins a random conversation, his thoughts strewn in haphazard piles around his brain, none of them forming coherent thoughts aside from thoughts of her.

----

"Recent studies have shown that schools who switched to this type of cafeteria food saw a surprising improvement in their students. They pay attention more in class, they do better on tests, and they're in an overall better mood. And this method costs less than what our school system now pays for breakfast and lunch food items. I believe that the old menu items are out-dated, and it's time we changed them altogether."

She's learned to project her voice well, and her words engage the entirety of the auditorium's current population as she motions to her friend to switch slides. Sasuke has to admit that she's done her homework as he looks on in genuine interest, noting her calm countenance and her relaxed posture. _I would almost say she's enjoying herself_.

As she draws in a deep breath, her eyes lock with his suddenly, and he's mesmerized by the intense green hues as she continues her presentation, continuing to hold him captive in his seat with her piercing gaze.

"Other candidates like to stand in my place and make promises about how they can change the school. But I don't make promises. However, I do have persuasive methods that I believe can help me attain what we need to better this school." A wave of soft chuckling courses through the room, and Sasuke knows her words are aimed at him. "It's my personal philosophy that you don't need to swear oaths. Your 'yes' should mean 'yes,' and your 'no' should mean 'no.'"

Silent agreement passes through those surrounding him, and Sasuke begins to wonder how badly he's lost for the second time.

"Therefore, I'm not lying to you here by promising you all these things. After all, a teenager's word only travels so far. I'm just…sharing my ideas, in hopes that you'll accept them and support me." The sincerity of her voice startles him, for half a second, yet he tries to hide his shock from her searching eyes. He's witnessing firsthand why she's the favorite to win this year, and he himself is taken aback by how…human…she looks, catching the faint traces of fatigue in her eyes and the petite way her eyebrows draw together when she's concentrating on what to say.

He has never used the word to describe a person before, but it's never been so fitting.

_She's…beautiful._

----

Six weeks' hard work passes by in smooth increments, the time slipping through his fingers faster than water as election day approaches.

In fact, it is already here.

Bound by the stoic traditions of their high school, Sasuke adorns himself in a formal business suit, fidgeting with his tie as he sizes up his uncomfortable reflection. After much encouragement from his mother, he applied a liberal amount of gel to his otherwise unruly hair, combing it back until the more restless pieces fell in docile strands behind his ears. However, as his dark eyes roam every crack and crevice of his body, they catch sight of his rebellious hair defying the gel and springing back into place.

_I knew it was impossible to tame._

Dissatisfied with his appearance, Sasuke paces the length of his bedroom a few times, glaring at the clock on his wall as he contemplates the day ahead of him.

_I lost_, he tells himself, so assured in his assumptions that he hasn't bothered to prepare a winning speech. Somehow, though, the concept of losing to Haruno Sakura doesn't bother him like it should.

"Sasuke!" his mother cries from downstairs, her voice echoing through the halls and startling him from his thoughts of someone else's victory. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah," he calls back, gathering his things.

Show time.

----

"After much deliberation," the assistant principal begins, adjusting the mike to receive her voice, "and counting of the ballots, we have at last found our winner for student council president."

_This is it._

"We've never before experienced a tie, and we debated over this for quite some time. In the event of a tie, the other student council members are required to decide on a president." Swallowing, her lips twitch upward in an apologetic smile. "However, they couldn't decide which to choose."

Sasuke's pitiful heart pounds against the prison of his ribcage, the blood rushing in his ears as his face drains of color. _It can't be…_

"Would Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura please come to the stage?"

A thunderous wave of applause sweeps the auditorium, and two confused teenagers are forced to their feet by their surrounding classmates. From across the room, Sasuke hunts for Sakura's eyes, finding their emerald depths as confused as his own. Clambering into their respective aisles, they traipse toward the stage in a state of astonishment.

"This year, these two wonderful young students will both serve as co-presidents to the student council. We're very excited that these two will be serving on the council together, and we can't wait to see how the year turns out…"

Once the two reach the stage, they take their place behind the vice principal, who wraps up her speech and steps aside so they can address the students.

Sharing hesitant glances, Sakura gestures that Sasuke should go first.

His lungs fill with lead as his eyes drink in the teeming mass of students, their voices quiet as they whisper in excitement to each other about this odd development. From behind him, Sakura incites him to speak with an impatient, "Come on, they're waiting."

Clearing his throat, his slender hand grasps the microphone before him, pulling it toward him as he begins. "Honestly…I wasn't expecting to win. I haven't prepared anything to say." With a pause, he surveys the expressions of his fellow classmates, and his determination strengthens. "But…there _is_ something I'd like to do." Without warning, he twists around and grabs Sakura's wrists, draws her fragile form against him, and, to the bewilderment of every onlooker in the auditorium, kisses her.

A thousand eternal seconds pass, where Sasuke isn't sure if he's dreaming or hallucinating, as he holds the young woman in his arms, intoxicated with her scent and the taste of her lips. However, the startled choking of the vice principal awakens him from his heavenly dream. With a healthy red coloring his face, he returns his gaze to the crowd, his beautiful co-president still clutched in his arms.

Several hundred cheers erupt from the assembly, an animated uproar overthrowing the buzz of whispers from seconds before. Glancing to Sakura, Sasuke smiles a legitimate smile, devouring the sight of her in his arms, her cheeks a lovely tinted rose as she returns the gesture.

"A tie, huh?" she questions, breathless, clinging to him with a quiet desperation in her grip.

He nods once in reply, and she smiles.

"Finally. It's about time things changed around here."


End file.
